Grades are in!

Turns out not to have been so bad. I managed to get my chemistry grade up to a B, having the ACS for a final. I think that actually helped my grade.

Anyway, while I was trying to stay alive in Micro and Organic, my programming grade dropped to a B. I definitely took too many classes for a homeschooling mom. I should have more sense.

As to homeschooling, it wasn't so bad because we had the kids doing Switched-On Schoolhouse. Yet, it was still very challenging, because the kids wanted to get away with not doing their work.

I'm taking a lighter load next semester. Until (big if) we get the kids into private school, it's just too much on us for me to take a full load. I'm looking at Neurobiology and Molecular Biology for next semester. I think that will be plenty to cook my brain, do you?

To God be the glory, and may I glimpse a small portion of it as I study.

Merry Christmas! I hope you have a Christ-centered holiday season.

Regi G

PS. I'm hoping to get back here for some thoughts I've had regarding gift-giving and all that, but in case I don't, Happy Holidays, and we'll talk later. ;)

Where's God's Plan in that Last Post?

I'm not quite sure I included it, but then, I inevitably did. I mean, God's plan exists in spite of me.

I know I have been called to ministry, but is that ministry of the more public sort, or is it the one that is more like a river. It's always there, but you don't really notice how it's affecting the landscape.

I think mine is more of the river type. I don't mean that I shall be there to make converts of everyone I meet, and I'm not anything near perfect, but, and I continually learn through parenting, that mine is the silent type of everyday style ministry. Minister through deeds rather than merely through words.

Of course, that doesn't mean I will never go on another missions trip or anything, but it just means that I'm here for the long haul. What does it have to do with my major?

Well, my major affects the kinds of people I come into contact with. I think God provides needs in our lives so that we can "hob nob" with the right people. These people will be those that minister to us and those that we minister to.

I think this calls into question what ministry is. Ministry is just offering to others something you have. It's service. That's it in a nutshell. The infrastructure built by some that folks call ministry is just a nice place for that "ministry" to "hang out." It can aid the ministry but it is not the ministry itself.

In fact, I think every Christian is called to this ministry, whether they are biological scientists, doctors, lawyers, chemists, teachers, bus drivers, etc.

Of course, I want to clarify that ministry type service is not like bussing tables or something. Ministry can have an income, but I think that diminishes the ministry, somewhat. Instead, pastors and such are ministered to by their church bodies. Okay, I'm getting into territory I didn't intend. I think that the pastor is necessary as the leader to the church which is a ministerial body.

It is God's will that we minister and that true ministry does not require belief by the individual being ministered to. The opportunity to share belief is part of Christian ministry, but if it expects it in return, it will be highly disappointing. We are to be instruments of God's work, not God, Himself. Only God can convert others.

Regi G

God's plan and My plan

I came here to share a revelation I had, but hopped over to bittersweetblue.blogspot.com for a read, and found there a confirmation, I suppose, of what I've been wrestling with lately.

I am really a very torn individual. I want to know everything about everything, and now I'm being told to make a career out of something. (Well, I did choose to return to school, and for some reason, they like you to declare a major. *shrug*)

So, I prayed and as I did so, made a list of my more major interests. I come from a long line of inventive men, and being a woman (INTJ, no less) who was raised by traditionally-minded women, have butted my head against the "establishment" for as far back as I can remember. Dang, I'm REALLY stubborn!

In response to my prayer, I got a few questions to think about, questions that I already knew much of the answers to:

What do you want to know everything about? (Cosmology, chemistry, biology)

What do you see yourself exploring for the rest of your life? (Cosmology and biology)

What has more potential beyond a paycheck? (all of my interests)

What will you do for money? *chirping crickets*

I have enjoyed my somewhat inventive and mechanical skills. I mean, I KNOW cars. I don't know how the stuff under the hood goes together, but I know when something is wrong with one--every time. Or, maybe that just has to do with the fact that we haven't had a new car in 10 years.

I like girly things, but don't think I could stand to keep houses or watch others' children, unless they are just sweet little angels who would like to play with me, but would be satisfied if I had to take care of something else or someone else for a minute, and slept about 75% of the time.

I do like computers. I like writing programs and some of the things in comp sci appeal to my mathematical side that first sprung up when I was little. (BTW, my younger daughter has a gift with numbers that I hope she doesn't lose as things get harder.)

Anyway...money is an issue, but I could get a computer job without a degree in comp sci. I'm really kinda interested in "green industrialism." I would like to develop methods that industry can use to help keep the environment clean.

I actually have a vested interest in that my hometown just narrowly missed getting landed with a coal energy plant that would leech mercury compounds into the environment there. Also, another plant arrived there when my aunt was young, poisoned their land and moved them into town. It's possible that my Downs' syndrome cousin has Downs' because of the pollution. The mercury compounds may have been relatively safe, but to us, it wasn't worth the risk. Plus, it would have brought jobs that these "resistors to Walmart" may not have liked.

Anyway, just some ribbons of thought that have been seemly (as opposed to seemlessly) taped together.

Regi G

FABNAQ at TalkOrigins

Please see the following link for the original questions. Also, this is incomplete, but I will try to update as often as possible.

FABNAQ

1. Basically, this question is asking why I think the Biblical account is correct.

Well, firstly, it’s the one I was taught. Secondly, much of the Biblical creation account is very pragmatic. Thirdly, the Biblical account introduces the idea that God wanted to share profound knowledge with us. What evidence do we have for all of this? If we had all the evidence we need, there would be no need for faith. There would be no true choice to love and serve God.

I can’t say dinosaurs weren’t on the ark.

I think some Christians are evolutionists because they want to believe what other people see. They take it as “gospel” what a lot of scientists say, rather than knowing it all out for themselves, and relying on God to reconcile what seems amiss. Rather, they choose to believe that the parts of the Bible that seem conflicting are not literal. But why ask me, or someone like me? Why not ask them?

Again, I don’t know why some choose not to believe the Bible is a perfect representation of what God wants us to believe. It’s better to ask those people directly, or to ask questions that I can honestly supply the answer to. I can really only answer for myself. But, again, I think it comes down to faith. I choose to have faith that God’s answers will pan out, and more than faith, actually. What others do instead, I can’t attest.

Young-life? Is this phrase implying that life began on earth shortly after the formation of the earth? Well, even Campbell and Reece, who wrote the college text, Biology, mention that. Bacterial life arose surprisingly early after the formation of the earth, and molecular clocks are giving us much earlier dates for certain events. Why other people don’t believe this, I don’t know.

I do not think that science and religion should be held separately. Both evaluate the limits of truth, and there is ambiguity. One can have both. In fact, Newton was a believer, as were many early scientists. Einstein’s theology is questionable, but even he seems to have respect for that which he didn’t know, and funny enough, hated uncertainty. Rather, I think it is ridiculous to attack someone else’s faith when you must have faith, yourself. As long as a Christian doesn’t lie about scientific findings, or engage in dishonest debate, I see no cause for ridicule.

2. Well, I don’t know how much THEORY there is in belief in a Biblical account of creation, but I can say with confidence that the ideas, or hypotheses, that such an idea gives rise to have not been completely evaluated, and to write it off is questionable scientific practice. If I’m correct in interpreting the phrase “young-life” then that is just one such instance that is being explored by molecular biologists, today. Again, in Biology, 6th Ed., Campbell and Reece state that life began much earlier than originally estimated, according to molecular evaluations.

Can the Biblical idea make predictions that are concurrent with observation? Well, early arisal of life. But if we take current data and reinterpret Scripture to fit it, that isn’t making a prediction. Rather, let’s look at ERVs (endogenous retroviral insertions). These might suggest that viruses arose from existing life, rather than arising naturally. Any way to prove this? I don’t know that all instances of ERV can be accounted for, but I do know that transcription of ERV segments of DNA have given rise to viable, infectious viruses. I have more to say about ERVs, but this answers the question at talkorigins.

Regi G

PS. Yes, these are my original answers.

Annoyances with Public Scientists

I was accidentally listening to PBS the other morning while trying to sleep (the tv was left on because my brain doesn't always settle down and it sometimes helps). A documentary or something came on, talking about Creation, Intelligent Design and science.

Well, I just want to say that Creationism and ID are not necessarily the same things. I think IDers are politically motivated groups, openly stating that they accept other Creation stories or believe in some off-planet source of life with an alien race or something, while creationists aren't, necessarily, politically motivated. In other words, Creationists can be IDers, but IDers include more than Creationists.

Creationism is the belief that God (and in the wordly perspective, any god or a pantheon) created our universe, world, and life.

Belief is not science, but tenets of faith can be evaluated scientifically. To do this, you must first start with a right perspective of the belief. In the cases of scientists arguing against an Intelligent Designer, especially God, they mistakenly assume that Creationists and IDers believe that God would use many different ways of creating life, whether by morphology, DNA composition, some other heritable molecule besides DNA, etc. It appears that many non-Creationists assume that if there is a God or other Creator, that the Creator MUST use uniquenss in all His creatures. I don't think so.

In fact, my creativeness starts in one place, leads me to a new place, and then another place and another, and it follows a logical progression. Now, I'm not as smart as God, but if I am made like Him in any capacity, this definitely follows from an Intelligent Designer.

I think that randomness is more inherent to completely chemical start with no Creator. I would not expect nature to be logical, but wild, untamed and unpredictable. That's not the way our world is, though it is in some locations. This fits with my idea of God, too. The simple things boggle our minds. But, the world is logical and chaotic at different times. There are reasons for everything, with some apparent randomness.

What do we make of it? Intelligence is also logical, not random. So, how can anyone arguing against Creation ideas dismiss the ideas just because life has a logical pattern? I must say, "Duh!" I mean no disrespect to persons, but to faulty ideas only, especially strawmen like this one.

Regi G

Purification Process Through Chemistry

You can read my previous posts and see there that I refer to difficulty in school. I was ashamed, embarrassed that I was having a tough time in this one class very related to my major. Well, the major that I was wanting to pick up.

The last few days, I've had some difficult decisions to make, so went to talk to some professors and GTA's (graduate teaching assistants). I was considering a change of major, since it's difficult to pursue a career in research (and minor in computer science) when you have three homeschooled children.

I'm on the A/B cusp in microbiology, though I've been a little disappointed with my performance in that class. But chemistry...that's been the real kicker.

While there are always some difficulties in chemistry, I've been performing under my potential. Maybe I'm overloaded, stretched for time, or maybe it's the professor, or some combination of all of these things. (I know for sure that I was 3 chapters behind, going into this semester.)

Well, yes on the first, yes on the second. Speaking to my micro professor and GTA, my chem prof is "like primo." You can take this prof for chem 1 and then anyone else for chem 2, but you can't take anyone else for chem 1 and him for chem 2, which is exactly where I am. It really discourages me because I want to KNOW chemistry, not just think I know chemistry. You know?

But, I do want to get my degree, too. So, I may get a D or F in chemistry this semester and have to retake it. Add to that that I'm coming from a community college to university and having to adjust...

I've come to the conclusion that I will still aim to do my best (no shot at an A, right now), and whatever comes, comes. If I have to retake chemistry, so be it. That is, unless I become a computer science major.

I really don't know where I ought to be. I'd prefer a major in the natural sciences, but if that's not possible...

Let me let you know why I wanted to go into biology in the first place. My grandmother has diabetes and I wanted to understand the current treatments and find better ones, not limiting my scope to medications but extending into cure (research).

I'm still fascinated by research. And now, my dad has diabetes, and so that means I've got 2 marks against me for the future.

I just learned, however, that University of Florida may be on the verge of a cure for diabetes. This doesn't dampen my interest, at all, just redirects it.

I want to be where God wants me to be, but I can't continue on at this pace. I feel like I'm losing touch with my family, at times, and that just kills me. I had to recommit to our family fun day (Sunday) and inject time for prayer, which is still shaky for me. I pray, but not in a structured way, which doesn't help me feel like I've spent a good amount of time with God.

Anyway, computer science and programming have been easy for me, thus far. While I was not attending school, I taught myself HTML and did a number of installs to learn other coding/languages. I was already embarking on javascript. Now, I've learned C and it puts what I was learning in js in a new light.

I have an opportunity to go to Thailand this summer and minister to missionaries whose lives are endangered, daily. They could use those trained in the medical sciences and in computers (encryption, upgrade, etc). Which do I do? Either can be used for God. I just ask that He lead me, so that His work can be done and my family provided for.

I plan to post a separate post on the Thailand trip, but ask that you will pray with and for me, and if you don't think you could do that, but want to do something, offer your thoughts on the choices before me. May God bless whatever you are able to contribute, whether to me or to someone else.

Regi G

Influence of Christian Rock

I had no idea...I, well, I made an observation a while back, but I'll get to that in a minute.

I was over at another blog ("Bitter Sweet Life") and made a joke about Larry Norman's "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music." I decided to look up information about the man. If Wikipedia is to be believed, Mr. Norman has been influential in music, not just Christian music. He is, apparently, very gifted as a musician and that has been the source of his influence. He has protected that gift and used it, solely, for God. Amen.

Anyhow...I have noticed that if you find a Christian artist that has a distinct style, you can find a secular artist with a similar style. Often (not always) the Christian gets there first. Such is the case of one Jennifer Knapp. (LOVE her, btw.) Her style is somewhat similar to (though, uh, cleaner than, in multiple ways) Jewel's. Well, Jenn isn't singing anymore, at least not producing records. And Jewel has continued on. But Jenn got there, slightly ahead of Jewel.

I don't know why this is important to me. I guess that it's just to say that we Christians have gifts and talents comparable to that of the world at large (well, why not? We're people too!), but we choose to use them for different gains, mostly.

I think that is why I take on debates with secularists so readily. It is important for me to know and to proclaim that Christians have reasons to believe, that we are entitled to our faith and that the faith we have is not entirely blind. It is blind, in some areas, and that is why it holds such great value, but we are not intellectually stumped, nor mentally impeded because we choose to believe in a God others choose not to see.

Regi G

Needing Something

I've been struggling in school lately. I'm not talking having some difficulty with some topics, but just really struggling to get my head on straight. I'm not sure what it's been that has been my problem. Well, I do know that it started off a difficult semester, but that doesn't seem to explain the stuff I'm going through.

On the one hand, I think I understand the stuff I'm studying. But then, I totally flop on the tests. I can't say this has never happened before, but I can say that it's never happened in such a way that I couldn't fix it. I just have not seemed to be able to fix this problem. The harder I worked, the worse it seemed to get.

The weekend before last, I got the results from the previous test (Friday) and took that evening and Saturday off from studying. Didn't crack a book. Instead, I prayed.

Well, since then, I've tried to pray, but haven't been consistent with times and such, but I do pray in an unstructured way.

I had a test on Monday. We'll see how I did. I hope well, but if not, I'm not going to sweat it. If I fail this one class, I'll retake it. I don't want to have to do that, but...to God be the glory, regardless of if I like the outcome or not.

My problem is that I keep making this about me. "It means I'm stupid." Blah, blah, blah. I'm not stupid. I have the same amount of brain that got me here. But, I'm only as successful at getting As on tests as God will allow me to be. Perhaps there is a problem within me. Why couldn't it have been straightened out before? Maybe I would not have been as receptive. I don't know, but I do know that I am a mere human on the face of a small planet, located in some spot in the great wide universe, that we barely understand.

I will do what I can, and not sweat the rest.

Regi G

Bumper-sticker Science

I had to run to school for a lab, which is a longish drive with lots of traffic. On the way home, we got stuck behind a vehicle with a bumper sticker that said, "The end of faith is the beginning of evolution," or something very similar.

I had several thoughts. Firstly, "Oh, man! I forgot to wash my hands after leaving the lab! Oh, yeah, I have hand sanitizer in my bag."

After that, I thought about the bumper sticker. At first, I thought and said (which are often simultaneous with me), "What if I don't want to evolve? I might turn into some scaly reptilian creature." My luck would dictate that I not become something cool like in X-men.

I then turned more serious. I said, "So, if people still have faith, there has been no evolution, and therefore, evolution is false."

I couldn't sharpen my debate skills at the time, because I was "preachin' to the choir," but somehow, I don't think the driver would desire to debate with me, at least, not for long.

I want to close my saying that I have been though some difficult times lately, and I have made a number of mistakes--some very big ones. I still struggle with not making the same mistakes again, so I'm not writing as someone who doesn't know what it's like to fail.

I write in berry pink but that doesn't mean I'm a sweet, demure, little lady. I try to be polite and respectful in all my associations. Some may think I'm sweet, but I have issues, like anyone else. I often have to remind myself that my failings aren't any worse than anyone else's, but that also means I'm no better.

I don't really know how these two topics relate, but just thought I'd confess without specifying my exact struggles, so that others know that I'm not trying to purport that I am, or any Christian is, perfect. We're not, though that is one of our goals. Another is to share the grace we have found.

I hope you are doing well.

RG

I want to run

I wanted to run.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to tell everyone

As I went by.

You! Hey, you! I want you to know

Someone very close to me

Died; and not too slow.

Gone. I just can't tell you.

Cry.

Mourn, mourn with me.

A life is gone

But not the memory.

The memory lives on with me

And not me alone.

Listen to me

So you can have the memory to be known.

What am I doing, lately?

I started school last month, and just after, my grandfather died. I've been playing catch-up in my classes and have my first test on Friday.

Last night was the first night of my new Precepts class on the Sermon on the Mount. I need to update on how Galatians went and then hope to pop in now and then to record some thoughts on the Sermon.

The Rich Man and Poor Man

I was looking up some Scriptures the other day, and among them was a verse that really got me to thinking.

I will look up the verse later, but it was in Proverbs, I think, and said something to the effect of "The rich man answers rashly, but the poor man begs for mercy." Well, something like that.

I continue to think on it. Who am I, spiritually? Am I the rich man or the poor man? Well, I'm not a man, but you understand, I'm sure.

I think that when I am harsh with others, I must be thinking like the rich man, thinking I have need of nothing, and that I have a basis from which to speak. Is this true, though?

Am I displaying humility in such moments?

The Beauty of Variety

Author's note: I wrote this a long while ago. By the site tracker at Blog-city, this was THE most popular post I had and it wasn't that easy to find, except for my bumping it very infrequently. I hope you enjoy it. I hope you share your thoughts.

Christians are challenged by the Great Commission, the charge of Christ to share the peace, love, and joy we have found through Him.

Now, some might point out that many Christians haven’t gained all that. True. But many have. Whether right or wrong, I try not to “witness” when I’m feeling distraught about my faith. What kind of a witness would I be for a friend if I went before the court all depressed or angry or agitated?

That’s not to say that I’m in perfect synchronicity with life and God’s will at this moment. I am sort of muddling through on a whole host of fronts. However, the general tone of my existence lately is of peace. Writing these articles is reaffirming to me.

So, if I go to…I don’t know…Cambodia (first place that popped into my head and I had a couple of friends from there), and start witnessing, what would I expect?

First, I would not expect them to give up their gloriously beautiful culture. In fact, I had a friend from China who converted. Amazingly, she came to me. I’m not sure I’d be the first person on my list to seek for spiritual advice, especially coming from Buddhism to Christianity. But anyway, there was someone else she sought out and me, and I fully expected her to keep much of her way of life.

She wanted to worship my God though, and I did not discourage her from that pursuit. To my knowledge, she learned as much as she could about Christianity and even Judaism. I believe she forsook Buddhism, but she remained Chinese, and as long as I knew her after that, kept her culture.

I think that conversion to Christianity need not affect many aspects of the culture of a society. Obviously, idols that are/were worshipped may pose a problem for some. For instance, I would not keep a statue of Buddha in a sacred place in my home. However, I think Jade is pretty, and the Buddha’s are sometimes fun to see, like at a restaurant.

Maybe that is a mark of the 21st century. Perhaps we are too pragmatic for our own good. I don’t know, but unless my Chinese friend struggles to worship Buddha when she does not want to, I would not recommend that she get rid of them.

Why do I think she might be wise to get rid of the Buddha idols if she struggles with worshipping them? Well, because by conversion, she says, “I reject Buddhism. This idol is a lump of gold and may have been contained in an ore deposit with the same gold used to make this necklace I am (or someone else is) wearing. I reject this golden idol. As for Buddha, I believe that God is supreme.”

You may take offense that I see it this way. If so: I didn’t force nor coerce my friend. She came to me, asking me questions. All I did was be her friend, and honestly, I could have been a better friend at times. She made her choice. Are you, who might not condemn her as a Buddhist, going to condemn the same woman as a Christian? Would you condemn me for caring about her even though she was a Buddhist and having accepted her friendship and offered mine, over the course of several years before her conversion? What about when I sought her out on her cultural practices? What about her teaching me to write my name and some other words in her language, Mandarin?

As missionaries, I think Christians are required to respect other cultures. I do not think anyone can FORCE everyone in a population to convert. If so, the Inquisition would certainly have done it, and yet, there were many who silently resisted, as in any oppression. The tactics might be effective in the short-run, but there comes a time of accounting.

On another point, I think God appreciates the beauty of some practices. What if a Christian adopted the praying three times a day. Perhaps the Christian would not face a particular direction, but just stopped EVERYthing and prayed, three times a day. How many Christians pray on their knees? Some do. I don’t nearly as often as I used to.

What about glorifying God through dance as the Native Americans? What about earnestly praising God for a meal animal, and being grateful to the animal for laying down his life so that we could have food?

The devotion of some groups exceeds that of many Christians.

I keep referring to some atheists, but I want to address anyone else who says that Christians have destroyed cultures. Christians aren’t the only ones, certainly. But do we not recognize Christianity as a cultural aspect in itself? Would you demand that it be wiped out, completely? If so, why? Would you tear down the ancient cathedrals and monasteries and other buildings of antiquated Christendom?

Would you destroy the Qumran scrolls? (Judaism, yes, but also a part of the Christians’ heritage.)

More complete thoughts to come... 10/23/05.

Technorati Tags: Christian, Christ, Cambodia, Chinese, Buddhism, Native American, culture, Muslims, Qumran

Thinking about attitudes

I've been thinking about my attitudes lately and I'm not very happy with them.

I need to "take each thought captive," and I haven't done that in a long time. I'm not "automatically bad" because of not doing this, but I can see how my brain has been seeded.

I have let things go, and if a Christian's life can be compared to a garden, mine has gone to weed.

I often compare the things that are going on in my life as if someone "shuffled my deck," or "played 52 card pick-up" with my mind. *snicker-chuckle*

Okay, I laugh at my euphemisms, but I'm not laughing at the problems this is causing. Just thought I'd let that off...

Okay, I lightened the background. I hope that makes my posts more legible...er...

Regi dG

Versions

My pastor has taken to using the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. I'm not sure why, but hey, he's the pastor.

I needed a new Bible, so I got one. It's very small, VERY pretty, and comes with a boatload of free software. Did I mention that I like free software? Oh, I did but not on this blog; that was here: http://spiritedmenagerie.blogspot.com/.

Okay, so before that, I was using the NASB, and before that, the NIV. I've gotten away from the King James and NKJV.

I still use the New American Standard Bible, for a couple of reasons. One, I heard that seminaries prefer it for its accuracy in translation, and two, it seems to be precisely a word-for-word translation, so that all you need to do is find out the Greek work and maybe do a work study on it, but not the definition, since you have the definition right there in your Bible.

The ESV...I like it. It's a nice complement to the NASB. It's a bit more modern, but not quite so paraphrased as The Message. I don't particularly like The Message. To me, it's not the Bible. It's interpretation of the Bible. You might as well pull out your J. Vernon McGee's. But the ESV seems to have had the same intent as the NASB, but there is a little more modernity to it, and while I find that a little annoying sometimes, it does help to shed light on the meaning of passages on occasion.

Who knew that scientists could be such purists, huh? Or...maybe that was obvious--I don't know.

So, I think I will do the bulk of my studies from my el cheapo NASB, that I actually highlight in, and the other one I have, the huge and clunky, old International Inductive Study Bible, which I'm afeared of marking in even thought that's its design, and use the ESV for church and times of lighter reading.

I might compare passages of the NASB and the ESV at times, and might even check out the study notes in my broken-spined NIV Study Bible. Sounds like a plan. :)

Regi dG

Technorati Tags: Bible versions, NIV, NASB, ESV, J. Vernon McGee, Greek, The Message

The True Message - Galatians 1

I thought I'd share my notes from Galatians ch. 1 with you. First off, I'm not a Bible scholar, by any stretch. If I happen to hit something right, I want to be clear that it is not from myself. Hey, I just decided to show up to this meeting. If I'm wrong, it's because I'm half-dead tired, since it's 2 am and I started this at midnight. If I'm right, it's surely a miracle.

Okay, so mini background: I'm doing Kay Arthur's "How to Study Your Bible," Regi-fashion. I paraphrased the chapter, then went through my paraphrase, and did all kinds of funky highlighting and note taking. I even drew a little map. It's so rough, I could probably scrape down lumber with it.

Right now, I'm not going to get too detailed, but to discuss my thoughts on a couple of sections. Verse 12 talks about the revelation of the gospel to Paul. Then, in verse 16, he talks about his reaction to his conversion experience. Here are my notes:

First off, "revelation" is an interesting word, and from the Greek word for it, we get "Apocalyps." It can mean "laying bear," "instruction," or "manifestation." The way Paul describes it, it's not something that was cultivated by years of studying or by years of imagining and building a construct. It was built outside of him and "downloaded" to him. It has an instantaneous quality, like something that was previously covered that has had its covering snatched away.

Expansion here: I use the word "downloaded" because that is how I think of it. When I download a program onto my computer, my computer (computer is to brain as download is to revelation, here) is not the source machine. There is another source. When I submit my request to download, the process begins. A complete package is transferred to my computer, almost instantaneously. The development already happened, and now it is just being made manifest to my computer. The installation is more time consuming, as is my learning to use the program, but the information is all already there. /end expansion

The next thought is that Paul spends a lot of time supporting the fact that he didn't spend much time with the apostles (15 days, he specifies). This was curious, but an inevitable defense for where his knowledge comes from. He sets down that the Gospel was by revelation and not from mankind. This is supernatural...and he insists that he is not lying. It seems "too good to be true." He relies on his detailed facts about his travels to be adequate "proof" that his conversion and message were not implanted by experience and suggestion. His past of persecuting Christians establishes that he was unwilling to listen until his conversion experience at Damascus.

I learned a Greek word: euangelion...eu-angelion. From this analysis, I get "eu-" which means "true," like "eubacteria" in biology, and "angelo" which is "messenger." Therefore, I conclude, rightly or wrongly, that Euangelion, from which we get "evangelism" is talking about teaching a "true message."

Regi dG

Technorati Tags: Galatians, Paul, conversion, persecution, Judaism, apocalyps, revelation

Studying Galatians

I've been working on Galatians with my Sunday School class, who are working through Kay Arthur's book, also. I'm not using her guidelines, however.

Basically, I'm paraphrasing the book, right now. It really makes you think, a lot. It's slow work, but I seem to get more out of it.

Having said that, my life is so hectic lately, that I could barely tell you what the book it about right now. I know the first chapter is a defense of the faith, and the second chapter continues that, up to the point I've studied. Maybe I'll get more into it later.

I just thought I'd stop in and empty my brain on the things stirring therein.

Regina G

Playing with Blogger

I changed my template here to look like my old site at blog-city, except I created the wallpaper (and the header). AWESOME! I found some helpful advice here: http://blogatech.blogspot.com/2007/01/add-custom-header-in-new-blogger.html.

I had figured out some of these things already, lol! But it took me hours of goofing around, and many "discard edits." I have a family for crying out loud! I act like a kid with this stuff. I'm 31.

So, then, the guy at the above link suggests deleting stuff out of the style sheet section of the html. When I did that with my template, it crunched my header. I don't know what's wrong, but I think I like it as it is, anyway. There is an invisible link there where my page title is. See if you can find it. ;p

Regi dG

PS. Hmm...apparently, I deleted it somehow. Whoops.

PPS. I cross-posted this to http://spiritedmenagerie.blogspot.com/.

PPPS. I can see that my background will block the view for a little while. *rolls eyes* I should probably lighten it up, but for now...

Moving from Blog-city

I asked the Mayoress at Blog-city to help me upgrade my account, and that I was trying to figure out payment options. I wanted to test their new version, but they converted my old blog.

What happened was that I was not able to pay nor to back up my site by the time the trial was over, and I lost my blog, completely. It was completely deleted.

Thankfully, a lot of my posts were articles that I had just copied from my website, but there were some that I fear have been lost.

Regi dG